(A) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pesticide compositions including fungicides, nematocides, herbicides and insecticides and more particularly relates to certain thiohydantoin compounds which, in accordance with the invention, have been found to have activity in inhibiting the growth of one or more pests.
(B) History of the Prior Art
Compounds having active pesticidal activity are known in nature, for example, certain microorganisms produce bactericidal antibiotic compositions and certain flowers contain insecticidal constituents. Men have for centuries utilized pesticidal compositions which initially were those obtained from nature, e.g. crushed pyrethrum flowers. Similarly, such naturally occurring pesticidal compositions are very good pesticides and continue to be used centuries after their initial discovery. Many pesticidal compositions which do not occur in nature have been chemically synthesized.
An ideal pesticide would be very specific to the pest being controlled, would have exceedingly low toxicity (including the carcinogenicity) to human beings and desirable life forms, would be highly active in controlling the pest, would be completely environmentally safe, and would be inexpensive due to its simplicity of manufacture from readily available low-cost materials. It is therefore clear that the ideal pesticide will probably never be obtained since specificity could almost always be better, toxicity could almost always be lower, the effectiveness could almost always be better, the environmental effects could almost always be less, and the cost could almost always be lower.
It is therefore highly desirable that entirely new classes of pesticide compositions be found.
Certain thiohydantoin compositions have been known in the prior art as color developers in photography, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 2,551,134. There is no disclosure or suggestion in this patent concerning the possibility that such compositions or similar compositions would have pesticidal activity.
"Pesticide" and "Pesticidal Amounts" as used herein includes not only compounds and amounts thereof which will kill pests but which will inhibit their growth as, for example, by interfering with reproductive processes.
"Pest" as used herein means any nonvertebrate living organism which detrimentally attacks a desirable living organism including human beings or detrimentally attacks a desirable article or interferes with a desirable process. Examples of such pests include undesirable soil fungi such as pythium and rhizoactonia; weeds; certain insects and mites; certain nematodes such as rootknot and certain foilage fungi such as the mildews.